Just Like Me
by CrAcKeRs oN CrAcK
Summary: Random Drabble about an insane hero....or more like venting out my frustrations...


"....Here we go again..."

The Princess of Hyrule sighed as she cast Farore's wind, setting her sights on the small peaceful village of Ordon. Though she wished the person she was about to visit was just as peaceful...

It had been almost three years since the Hero of Twilight had finally put an end to the Dark Lord that had been plaguing her country for many years. It had been a fantasy come true; Hyrule always laid in fear of his designs, and now that he no longer existed on the face of this world, she had looked forward to a golden age, an age where her people could finally be happy and carefree. They were, save for the one person that she would had expected to be the most joyous...

Link.

She had offered him a place to stay within her palace, the title of highest ranking knight, anything he desired to be more specific, for his endeavours. He had politely declined the offers, expressing the desire to return to his rural life and raise cattle just like he had done before this entire mess had occurred. She could understand; he didn't seem like one to really like that much attention. Though she dearly wished he could stay, she had let him go; after all, he was the hero, and deserved to do as he wished.

It had been about a year ago that she had received a visit from a childhood friend of his, Ilia. She remembered that rueful day; she had come storming into her throne room, flanked by the many guards that tried to stop her, and began vehemently cursing her, blaming her for something she was, at that time, uncertain of. She hadn't even known she had come on behalf of Link; in fact, she thought that the girl might had been a fanatical supporter of Ganondorf, for she could not even imagine the Dark Lord himself speak to her in the way this erratic girl had. Once the guards had restrained her and given her time to calm down, Zelda had been able to make out that the girl knew Link personally and why she had been so angry...

Link had attempted suicide...

Zelda had been quite shocked, and had visited him straight away. He had cut his wrists, and was constantly mumbling incoherently about Din knows what. She had stayed with him for days, trying to figure out why he would do such a thing, but all she really got out him were glares and murmurs that ran along the lines of "you would never understand"...

The girl, Ilia, once she had seen Zelda's concern for the young hero, had apologized for her raucous actions. She had noticed his digression of character, but she hadn't payed it much mind, she had explained. She had merely attributed it to the fact that he had become a man, had seen much harder times then she could ever imagine. She never thought that he was depressed, or at least depressed enough to attempt such a thing. Ilia, being almost like a sister to him, found no one else to vent her shock and frustration on save the one who had sent him on the quest, namely Zelda, and thus the result had been that tirade. Zelda wasn't narrow-minded; she understood and mentioned that she would had probably done the same thing in her situation. She promised Ilia that she would do everything in her power to help him. After all, she, and Hyrule, owed that much to him.

Currently, she was making one of her weekly visits to the hero. Ilia had made him move into her home, wanting to keep an eye on him to assure herself that he wouldn't try something like that again. He had, in the meantime, completely stopped doing anything, opting to lock himself up in his room instead. Anyone who tried to approach him was vehemently sent away by his recently developed sharp tongue. The change of attitude was a complete shock to everyone; how had he changed so randomly, and so fast?

Zelda let out another wistful sigh as she appeared in front of Ilia's home. Sometimes, she felt like completely giving up on these visits.; she gained nothing from them save a large amount of curses. Yet she still felt obligated to so...no...she was obligated to do this, even if he tried to kill her. He had to, eventually, speak about what bothered him so much...

"Good day your majesty. Please step inside." Ilia's gentle voice welcomed her.

"Thank you....where is Link?"

Ilia's face darkened. "In his room as usual...though he has become more reclusive...he won't even come out to shower or eat for Farore's sake!"

Zelda put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry...I'm sure today we'll learn something that will help him..." Though she wondered...

Was she trying to reassure the girl...or herself?

Ilia simply nodded. "Just...try your best your Majesty...I'll go ahead and put some tea to boil..." With that, Ilia left towards the kitchen, leaving Zelda alone to face the depressed man. Taking a deep breath, she made her way towards the stairs, towards Link's room.

Upon reaching the door, she raised her fist to knock, and paused. Making sure she was mentally prepared, she shut her eyes and gently knock on the door.

No answer.

Confused, she raised her fist to knock again.

"What the fuck do you want bitch!?!"

She wasn't offended; she had, more or less, been expecting that sort of response.

"It's me Link, Zelda...may I come inside?"

"Whatever..." she heard him mumble. Steeling herself for the worst, she opened the door and let herself inside the room.

The first thing that hit her in the face was the stench inside. It stunk of sweat, liquor, and human odour. The ground was littered with many months worth of garbage, and clothes hung from every possible corner. Fighting the urge not to vomit, she took a glance around the room, and spotted him sitting by the window, his face turned toward the outside with a blank stare.

She was astonished at how much his depression had changed his appearance. He had allowed his hair to grow past his shoulders, not bothering to tie them up or groom them in any way. He had stuble on his face, and what were once soft eyes were hardened with the anger festering inside of him. He didn't even bother to wear a shirt, exposing all of his battle wounds which were usually hidden and unnoticed.

"Link...why..."

He gave her a glare from the corner of his hard eyes.

"What the hell do you want from me damnit!?! Haven't I given you enough already!?!"

Zelda lowered her gaze so that her eyes trailed along the floor and silently whispered, " I don't want anything from you Link..."

Link opted to glare at whatever was outside his window. "Then why do you keep coming here..." he smashed his fist against the window sill, "WHY DON"T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"

Zelda looked up, determination set in her eyes, "I want to help you Link..."

Link's body began to shake slightly as he laughed softly. "Help me...how could you possibly help me...?" he narrowed his eyes, "You don't know, nor would you understand....this...this feeling I have inside..."

"Try me Link."

Before Zelda could notice, Link was standing in front of her, his cold stare piercing her, his body odour from days of neglect overwhelming her senses. Grabbing her shoulders, he began to shake her violently.

"Who the fuck do you think I am!?! Are my feelings just some kind of fucking game to you!?! If you understand, then yay you solved the problem of the prick stuck up in his room, and if you don't, then well too bad, maybe next time the bastard will talk!?! Is that it!?!"

Zelda's head was swirling from Link's unexpected violence. Her mind felt too scrambled to answer.

"IS THAT IT!!!???!!! ANSWER ME DAMNIT!!!"

"Please Link..." Zelda managed to gasp, "please...stop...I honestly am just trying to help you..."

Link's eye's widened as he realized what he was doing to her. He abruptly let her go as if she were hot coal in his hands, and fell to his hands and knees. She felt a twinge of pity in her heart as she heard his chocked sobs.

"I'm....I'm...s-s-sorry..."he sniffled as an insane smile crossed his features, "I'm a cold-blooded murderer after all..."

Zelda's ears perked up. This had been the first time Link had expressed any of his thoughts besides the profanities he usually had ready for everyone. She lightly touched his shoulder and asked softly, " Why would you think of yourself that way Link...you are Hyrule's saviour..."

Link yanked his head up to face Zelda, laughing uncontrollably as if she had just told him the funniest joke on earth. Zelda could only stare blankly as his fit of laughter slowly turned to tears. Letting his head hang limply, his tears falling freely, he answered in a meek voice, " I am no saviour Zelda..."

He looked up at her again, this time his eyes filled with unbearable pain and sadness. " I may be so to YOUR people...but to others...I am their worst nightmare..." Shutting his eyes, a sad smile formed on his face as he continued, " And I first realized this when I fought Ganondorf..."

Zelda noticed his body begin to shake slightly. She knelt down next to him, putting her arms around him to support his weakening form, knowing that deep inside, he wasn't talking to her, but rather, trying to quell the inner demon that was eating him inside and out.

"When I had started my quest....I was brimming with excitement. Never in my life could I imagine something this epic happening to me, that I, a simple farmhand, would become a chosen hero...I was living the dreams that every boy had throughout his entire childhood...it was a fantasy come true..."

Link opened his eyes. "Too good to be true..."

He took in a shuddering breath, " As I fought through the legions of beasts, one after another, I felt more invigorated. It reminded me of the days of when I would play in the forest, swiping my imaginary sword at the enemies that only my mind's eye could perceive. Do you understand why I wasn't scared?"

Narrowing his eyes, he answered, "....I wasn't scared because I thought it was a game. That this real life slaughter was just like the games I had played as a little boy...why would anyone be scared of a harmless game anyway....? In that mindset, anyone could be a hero..."

He shut his eyes again. "Then I faced Ganondorf, the Dark Lord, the evil magician that was necessary in every fairy tale. It didn't come to my mind at that time that I was facing one of the most dangerous men ever recorded in Hyrule's history, that I should be prudent; instead,I only felt that excitement, that adrenaline rush that my story, my game, was coming to a close. As I battled, I remembered all the tales of great men whisper past my ear, endeavouring to mimic their epic tales as I fought the antagonist of my legend..."

Zelda abruptly let go of Link as he reared up to grasp his hair with both his hands. Tears began to stream down his face as his voice became filled with agony, " I...plunged my sword into him....and I heard him scream..." His eyes widened as the memory came rushing back to him, "...and I realized that his scream was real...the look of pain, fear, and desperation in his eyes as I robbed his body of his life...WAS ALL REAL!!!"

Zelda stared apprehensively at Link as he convulsed violently, shaking his head erratically as if he could somehow make the memory vanish, "...he was human just like me Zelda...he was trying to protect something just like me Zelda...he was in pain and sorrow just like me Zelda...put into an awkward position just like me Zelda...he was afraid to die....to lose everything he had worked so hard for..."

Link's random body motions abruptly stopped as his body went completely limp.

"He was....just like me Zelda....and I killed him... without a second thought..."

Covering his face with his hands, he continued in a small voice, "....that's when I realized that all those monsters I had killed....were all alive...that they...were subjected to the will to live just like you and I...."

"And I killed them without a second thought..."

"I was their nightmare...their Angel of Death...as they awaited me to inevitably end their life...

"And I killed them without a second thought...like their life was a game made to my amusement..."

"How then....can you call me a saviour....if I do not honour the fact that my enemy was also putting his life on the line for his cause..."

"I am a cold-hearted bastard...."

Link turned to Zelda with those hardened, sad eyes, "Please...just...leave me alone....I need...to think this over....."

Zelda, too overwhelmed with his unsorted feelings, could only muster a slight nod as she got up to leave. Link turned his face to the floor, not acknowledging her anymore as he delved into his confused and jumbled thoughts.

Zelda shut the door, feeling half-assed, for lack of a better word. He had finally spilled out what was torturing his thoughts, and she had not said a single word, had not been able to convince him that he wasn't...

But what could she say...

In all honesty, she had never thought of the world the way Link had portrayed it. In her mind, good and evil had always been clearly defined. The Dark Lord was an evil man, his intentions were only evil, and she was the light of the land, her and the chosen hero...but what if Link was right? What if Ganondorf, if all his beasts, were just like them...just trying to forge a life in a cruel and unforgiving world...would that really be considered evil? Had the Dark Lord consider them evil as much as they did him...

Then, what was good? And what was evil? Who was the hero, and who was the villain?

There was much to contemplate, for this meeting had given as many questions as it had given answers...


End file.
